Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

Watershed Responses To Forest Practices Studied

Date:

September 30, 1999

Source:

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Summary:

A newly enhanced computer model may help forest managers design or modify forest roads, tree harvesting and other land-use activities based on effects to watersheds, streams and fish habitat. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have expanded the capabilities of a watershed model to make it possible to explore economic and environmental trade-offs of various land-use activities.

Related Articles

RICHLAND, Wash. - A newly enhanced computer model may help forest managers design or modify forest roads, tree harvesting and other land-use activities based on effects to watersheds, streams and fish habitat.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have expanded the capabilities of a watershed model to make it possible to explore economic and environmental trade-offs of various land-use activities. The research is sponsored by the National Council of the paper industry for Air and Stream Improvement, or NCASI, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Called the Geographic Information System-based Modeling System for Watershed Analysis, GISWA could provide information on how alternative practices can be used to help avoid altering a watershed’s natural processes. Forest roads have received attention recently for their potential effects on watersheds and wildlife habitat. The Clinton Administration ordered a moratorium in February 1999 on road construction in some national forests.

“With the new enhancements, this model could be a valuable tool for planning new forest roads for the least effects to a watershed and its wildlife habitat,” said Mark Wigmosta, a senior research engineer at Pacific Northwest. “The watershed analysis model is designed to make the link between cause and effect.”

GISWA simulates hydrologic conditions at thousands of locations within a single watershed to provide a detailed representation of water movement. This includes flow below the ground’s surface, called subsurface flow, which may be redistributed when trees are harvested or roads are built. Forest roads often cut into hillsides, which can divert subsurface flow into culverts. The culverts then can route greater amounts of water at a faster rate into streams if a direct connection exists between the culvert outlet and the stream.

“As a result, changing stream flow can erode channel banks, transport more sediment and alter the stream channels,” Wigmosta said. “All of these factors have the potential to affect fish habitat.”

GISWA is an updated version of a watershed model Wigmosta developed during his DOE-funded postgraduate work at the University of Washington in the early 1990s. The original model, called Distributed Hydrology-Soil-Vegetation Model, showed how climate change could effect hydrology and water resources.

In 1998, Pacific Northwest researchers integrated their version of the distributed watershed model with a version from the University of Washington. Then they incorporated a GIS-based modeling system and data on logging road networks and stream channels. In 1999, Pacific Northwest researchers began developing graphical user interfaces and preparing a user’s manual. NCASI is expected to test the latest version in the next year then evaluate it for potential use by the forest industry.

Pacific Northwest also is applying GISWA, in conjunction with a regional climate model, to address climate issues in the United States and China.

Business inquiries on this or other PNNL technologies should be directed to 1-888-375-PNNL or e-mail: .

NCASI is a nonprofit organization based at Research Triangle Park, N.C., and is sponsored by the forest industry to pursue environmental research. NCASI sponsored this research as part of its Forest Watershed Program, which provides members with information on the effects of forest practices on natural resources. For more information, see the council’s web page at http://www.ncasi.org.

Pacific Northwest is one of DOE’s nine multiprogram national laboratories and conducts research in the fields of environment, energy, health sciences and national security. Battelle, based in Columbus, Ohio, has operated Pacific Northwest for DOE since 1965.

More From ScienceDaily

More Earth & Climate News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — Attendance at schools exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution is linked to slower cognitive development among 7- to 10-year-old children in Barcelona, according to a new ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — While studying a ground-nesting bird population near El Reno, Okla., a research team found that stress during a severe weather outbreak of May 31, 2013, had manifested itself into malformations in ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Researchers studied quartz from the San Andreas Fault at the microscopic scale, the scale at which earthquake-triggering stresses originate. The results could one day lead to a better understanding ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — The 3-D printing scene, a growing favorite of do-it-yourselfers, has spread to the study of plasma physics. With a series of experiments, researchers have found that 3-D printers can be an important ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Researchers have developed a new way of rapidly screening yeasts that could help produce more sustainable biofuels. The new technique could also be a boon in the search for new ways of deriving ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — For almost a century, scientists have been puzzled by a process that is crucial to much of the life in Earth's oceans: Why does calcium carbonate, the tough material of seashells and corals, ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Major cities in the UK are falling behind their international counterparts in terms of their use of smart technologies, according to a new study. The research has found that smart cities in the UK, ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — To simulate chimp behavior, scientists created a computer model based on equations normally used to describe the movement of atoms and molecules in a confined space. An interdisciplinary research ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Rather than just waiting patiently for any pollinator that comes their way to start the next generation of seeds, some plants appear to recognize the best suitors and 'turn on' to increase the chance ... full story

Featured Videos

Looted and Leaking, South Sudan's Oil Wells Pose Health Risk

AFP (Mar. 3, 2015) — Thick black puddles and a looted, leaking ruin are all that remain of the Thar Jath oil treatment facility, once a crucial part of South Sudan&apos;s mainstay industry. Duration: 01:13
Video provided by AFP

Related Stories

Mar. 27, 2014 — Agroforestry, combined with land and water management practices that increase agricultural productivity, can save watersheds from degradation. A study in the Gabayan watershed in eastern Bohol, ... full story

Dec. 2, 2013 — A modeling study shows that reforesting the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley can significantly reduce runoff from agricultural lands and the amount of sediment entering the area's rivers and ... full story

June 14, 2012 — Within two decades, 60 percent of the world's population will live in cities, and coping with the resulting urban drinking water and sanitation issues will be one of the greatest challenges of ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.